Dimension Four
by EmberSkies
Summary: When a wish goes awry, a young girl from our world finds herself stuck in an alternate dimension. A different take on SoulSilverShipping, PokeSpe mangaverse.


_Kaleidoscope_

 _Chapter One_

 _A Midsummer Night's Dream_

* * *

"Make a wish! Step right up and make a wish!"

The carnival was strange; so many new sensations, dazzling my eyes, tantalizing scents of fried kabobs wafting past my nose, cool pebbles crackling beneath the thin soles of my worn sneakers.

But somehow it felt empty.

 _I wish I wasn't here._

 _Then where_ , my mind whispered, _do you wish to be?_

 _Nowhere._

 _Away._

 _Gone._

Wouldn't that be the easy way out?

That night was chilly, blue fading into pink and orange and red. It was a beautiful red. Like fresh blood, welling up before a wound scabbed over. Like the red of my lipstick, hiding beneath it the dark bruises of a life long gone.

"You! Yes, you there! What do you wish for?"

The magician, in flamboyant purple and yellow, was so bright and utterly clashing that the mere sight of him burned my eyes. I rubbed at them, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Me? I'm not a child."

I watched his eyebrows slowly creep up his forehead. A smile slowly spread across his face. His teeth were blindingly white. "Who said you had to be a child to want something?" His smile suddenly vanished, leaving behind the ghost of a laugh. "But no. I do not inquire for wants. I ask for the deepest desire of your heart, the one you can never possibly have."

 _The one you can never possibly have._

I felt a pang in my chest.

"Love? Is that the answer you want?" I looked into his earnest eyes and sighed. "Look, I'm not here to be your cliché storybook damsel. If you're trying to con me into buying something, I'm broke. Okay? Have a nice night."

"You wish to escape."

"I — wait, _what_?"

"You are broken, so broken, and you wish to start anew. You wish to escape. And yes, I think love is exactly what you need."

I could feel myself backing away, the soles of my shoes thumping rhythmically on the stones. Fear broiled in my stomach. I don't remember exactly what I feared so much that day, but I think it was the shock of a complete stranger unraveling my emotions and leaving them bare, unprotected. I think it was the fear that he was right.

 _He was right._

"I grant your wish."

My eyes slid closed. I could feel myself falling backwards. Lights kept flickering from beneath my eyelids. An entire lifetime flew past in that one moment, scattered memories that meant nothing to me.

" _You have to run, Soul."_

 _"I'll meet up with you, okay? I promise."_

 _Fire. So much fire._

 _"Soul, can you hear me? Soul!"_

 _So beautiful._

 _"Soul, no!_

 _Red light. Like blood. Like —_

 _"Who are you?"_

 _Soul._

 _My name isn't Soul._

A whirlwind of kaleidoscopic color spun before me, specks of silver and gold melding together in an inferno of red.

The whirlwind overtook me and I fell into oblivion.

* * *

 _It's Lyra._

* * *

I woke to the steady, rhythmic pounding of heavy footsteps, crashing into the ground with every step. My eyes flickered open.

Truthfully? I think it was the shock of being dangled before the face of an enormous blue alligator that really woke me up.

I yelped, tumbling to the ground, rolling over twigs and rocks and crashing rather painfully into the unyielding trunk of an old oak tree. Of course, I didn't know back then that it was an oak tree. All I knew was that it had caused tremendous pain to resonate from the back of my head, and sent my ears ringing like nobody's business. I reeled backwards, clutching my head.

"Oh, for the love of Arceus . . ." An exasperated voice cut through the haze of pain. "Can you stand?"

"You tell me," I muttered. "What does it look like?"

I felt arms wrap around my torso, and lift me up with surprising gentleness. They stumbled under my weight, grunting partly from exertion, partly from annoyance. I was deposited onto a soft surface that once again began to rock with slow, thundering footsteps. My hand slipped, and instinctively grabbed a hold of . . . scales?

" _Ohhh,_ " I muttered, feeling cold apprehension creeping up on me like a blanket of snow. "Please don't tell me I'm currently riding on the back of a giant blue alligator."

"Actually," the soft voice from before replied, still laced with annoyance, "you're riding on a Croconaw."

I was about to deliver a witty, sarcastic retort, but something in his words made me freeze. The words spluttered and died in my throat. ". . . Croconaw?"

"Yes, Croconaw." His voice was irritated, and rang out with a low timbre. "Rest. Stop talking."

This person — whom I still didn't know — might have insulted me with his blunt words, but that was currently the least of my worries. "But Croconaw is a Pokemon."

My voice sounded weak. I hated it.

"Of course it's a Pokemon," the boy scoffed. "What else would it be?"

 _Your wish has been granted._

Oh no.

Ohhh no.

 _He took my wish literally._

The magician had allowed me to escape — and in doing so, had tossed me headfirst into another dimension. A different world. A fictional world, suddenly brought to life — with me in the center of it.

I squeezed my eyes shut, clenching my fists, burrowing my face into the Croconaw's scales. I felt a wry smile spread across my face as I craned my neck around, catching my first glimpse of the mystery boy.

"You wouldn't happen to be named Ash Ketchum, would you?"

* * *

Silver dropped the girl off at the nearest hospital.

The staff rushed in to take her from him, lifting her gently off the back of his loyal, faithful Croconaw and wheeling her off on a stretcher.

 _Ash Ketchum._

The name was unfamiliar to him. Who was this girl looking for? How had she ended up collapsing in the woods? She had no Pokeballs on her, and seemed afraid of his Croconaw. Who was she?

It didn't matter. Bringing her here had put him behind schedule, and he would have to work hard to make up for the valuable time lost.

" _Soul," she had murmured in her sleep. "My name isn't Soul."_

Silver took one last look at her before taking off into the night.


End file.
